NHL Trade Deadline 2026: The Five Biggest Winners

The NHL's 2025-26 trade deadline came and went Friday afternoon, with fewer major deals than anticipated.

But that doesn't mean there weren't winners and losers at the deadline. To the contrary, there were clearly teams that took advantage of the trade deadline to significantly improve their roster. 

To that end, we're stepping up to list which teams did the best at the deadline. Whether they were buyers or sellers, Cup contenders and clubs outside of playoff spots did an excellent job during trade deadline season.

The rich got richer at this year's trade deadline, and the Avalanche improved their already strong chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

Colorado GM Chris MacFarland picked up the best center on the market in former Calgary Flame pivot Nazem Kadri, and a day earlier, MacFarland added another capable center in former Toronto Maple Leaf Nicolas Roy. 

That meant the center depth, which had been the only hole on the NHL's best regular-season team thus far, became an obvious position of strength. So any group of winners from this year's deadline has to start with the Avs.

Colorado added considerable experience and talent Friday without taking anything away from the roster that got the Avalanche this far. MacFarland has been putting on a masterclass on how to construct a Cup frontrunner, and the Avs now have to be considered the overwhelming favorite to win another championship this year.

There's a reason Stars GM Jim Nill is perennially considered to be one of the NHL's best GMs, if not the best.

Each year, he puts a solid team together, and each trade deadline, he adds good players without hurting the team's long-term prospects.

That's what Nill did at this year's deadline, adding defenseman Tyler Myers from the Vancouver Canucks, then landing left winger Michael Bunting from the Nashville Predators.

The Stars already had great depth, but this year, Myers gives them size and experience, while Bunting provides secondary scoring and is a pain to play against. The Stars needed more of that pesky play. And now, the Stars are as close to the Avs as any other team in the league. 

Nill saw what he thought needed improving and improved it. And this year was no different. Dallas came into the deadline as one of the odds-on favorites to go far this year, and that's only more true after Nill's deadline moves.

The Ducks only made two trades this week, trading Ryan Strome to Calgary on Friday. But it's the other trade that has them as clear winners.

Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek acquired former Washington Capitals star blueliner John Carlson.

Yes, Carlson is 36, and yes, he's a pending UFA. But we're talking about a defenseman with 46 points in 55 games this season. That is pretty huge for the Ducks, which had defensive-minded D-men Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas as their top two on the right side.

Acquiring Carlson should help Anaheim's young D-men significantly, and Anaheim is essentially auditioning to be the place where Carlson will sign his next contract next summer. And if things work out, there's reason for Carlson to stay.

That said, the Ducks are better with Carlson on it. He can mentor for a brief while, with the option to stay a few years. And dealing away a couple of draft picks to land a player of his caliber, who is barely slowing down with age, has to make Anaheim a winning team at the deadline.

You didn't have to be a buyer to be one of the main winners at the deadline. Indeed, no team was a bigger seller than the Flames – and Calgary GM Craig Conroy did a solid job of restocking his team's cupboard of assets. 

On Wednesday, the Flames dealt defenseman MacKenzie Weegar for prospect Jonathan Castagna, Olli Maatta and three second-round picks. And on Friday, Conroy pulled the trigger on the Kadri trade, accepting prospect Max Curran, Victor Olofsson, a conditional first-rounder and a conditional second-rounder for the veteran center.

While those trades made Calgary demonstrably worse in the short term, Conroy deserves praise.

Stripping things down to the studs in Flames Land is the best way to build through the draft and have a dynamic young team for the long haul. It's a hard road to travel, but every road is. And now, the Flames are on the right road to reward their fans for sticking with them all these years.

The Capitals are still in the mix for a playoff spot, but that didn't stop GM Chris Patrick from making bold moves and continuing a retool on the fly.

In separate deals, Patrick dealt Carlson and bottom-six center Nic Dowd. In return, he got back a first-rounder, second-rounder and two third-round draft picks, as well as prospect goalie Jesper Vikman. They also acquired blueliner Timothy Liljegren from the San Jose Sharks for only a fourth-rounder so he can replace Carlson's roster spot on the right side. That's impressive asset management.

The Capitals may fail to make the playoffs this year. But it wasn't like Carlson and Dowd were the problem. This Caps team is trying to transition from one generation to the next, and Patrick helped that process along at this year's deadline. 

Washington is still approaching a crossroads with foundational left winger Alex Ovechkin, whose contract expires after this season. But it's not all about Ovechkin in D.C. It's now about newer, younger players for the Capitals, and Patrick addressed that need by moving Carlson and signaling a true, lasting change in the team's core.

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